Senator Dastyari will host Schooners and Senators, an informal political discussion, at Port Macquarie’s Settlers Inn Hotel between 2pm and 5pm on November 18.

“I’m here to listen to what people have to say,” he said.

“It’s going to be entertaining and fun.”

Senator Dastyari will talk about politics for about 10 minutes after which people can ask questions and share their views.

The Labor Senator said the event would be a very informal way of hearing from people in a relaxed environment.

The Port Macquarie event follows similar gatherings at Armidale and Tamworth.

“It’s incumbent on those of us in politics to make sure we are spending more time in the regions,” Senator Dastyari said.

“I’ve found the best way to do that is to have informal events.”

Senator Dastyari said he was trying to get out of Sydney as much as possible to hear from the people in the regions.

He said people could just show up at the Port Macquarie event.

Senator Dastyari expects some people will be keen to express opinions while others will want to raise issues.

“For me, it’s incredibly useful and it gives me a reservoir of experiences from other people,” he said.

“People come to you, they are passionate about issues and you realise how things are playing out there.”